This Oregon Fish Screen Project is for the expense portion of new and replacement fish screens and passage barriers, used for irrigation, in anadromous basins of Northeast Oregon.  The program uses cost share from NOAA, OWEB Measure 66 (M66) funds, and BPA for implementation.  From 1993 to 1997, the program focused on an inventory of irrigation diversions in need of fish screens, or due to the change in NOAA criteria for Salmonids needed replaced, in the John Day, Umatilla and Walla Walla Basins.  During this time, there were also several pump irrigation screens installed.  In 1997, the program, directed the focus on replacement of non-criteria fish screens and related passage barriers, throughout the John Day, Umatilla and Walla Walla Subbasins.  Since the start of the cooperative efforts between BPA, NOAA, OWEB/M66, ODFW, private landowners, and a multitude of government entities, to present, the program has installed 210 gravity irrigation diversion screens, 135+ pump screens and 13 fishways that meet the new criteria.  Annual Reports have been provided to BPA that detail results.  

The project will help to continue efforts to collect an ongoing fish screen by-pass trap study since 1954, for the identification of fish species present and the total numbers identified.  This study helps evaluate the effectiveness of the program by documenting the numbers of fish trapped to fish that could have been entrained in the irrigation ditch or pump intake, and would have most likely perished had the fish screen not been in place.  The work elements will aid in the breakdown of the costs and describe the actions needed to continue these efforts.